Updated March 2022 

The ongoing health and welfare of our students, faculty and the Richmond/East Bay community remains utmost on our minds during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to carefully monitor the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Contra Costa Health Services updates and recommendations. 

In mid-March 2020 East Bay Center moved all of its instruction to virtual platforms and Staff Remote. We are excited to announce that as of January 2022, Group classes have resumed to in person (with many safety precautions in place) and staff are regularly back on site. Private lessons will continue to be remote over zoom. We require all staff and students on site to wear a mask and be vaccinated against COVID-19. Class sizes are limited to allow for social distancing.

This is what we are doing: 

• Training and Instruction: Our 65 faculty and 24 staff are actively and creatively delivering instruction for all our current 3,500 local school children and our 500 main site students. 

• Basic Needs: We remain focused on meeting our students basic needs, staying in contact, helping to connect needs with resources, providing mental and emotional health support, along with tutoring and academic assistance.

• Community Partnerships: We are working closely and assisting school district personnel as part of a task force with city, county, and local CBO partners to address the challenges of the schools' and community's most vulnerable families. 

• Staff are available: All key Center staff members are working in person or hybrid remote and in person, ensuring that our operations continue uninterrupted.

• The big picture: We are keenly aware of how our community is experiencing increased burdens of economic hardship and stress during the pandemic crisis. The Center is actively joining with local partners to address the challenge of underlying conditions and systemic inequities and we are resolved to get through this together.

Thank you for your support during this time. Throughout this global outbreak, our community’s well-being is our number one concern. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Official Updates + Resources 

• West Contra Costa Unified School District
• World Health Organization Updates
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• California Dept of Public Health
• City of Richmond Current Recommendations
• COVID-19 Bay Area Community Resources + Up-to-Date Health Information (English Version) / COVID-19 Recursos para la Comunidad del Área de la Bahía + Información actualizada sobre salud (Versión en Espanol)
• Department of Public Health COVID-19 FAQs




Key Center Program Contacts

Students, parents, and faculty, we encourage you to contact the following program staff with questions and concerns. 

To connect to our emergency fund please fill out this form.

Main Site Programs

For information about remote group classes, remote private lessons, ensembles, and student support services please contact:

• Director of Student Development and Training: Kwesi Anku: Kwesi@eastbaycenter.org l Cell: 415-652-4409
• Associate Director of Student Development and Training: Lolis Garcia, Lolis@eastbaycenter.org
• Student Support Services: Corinna Espino, Corinna.espino@eastbaycenter.org



School and Neighborhood Partnerships

East Bay Center continues to partner with WCCUSD schools and the district office to provide virtual learning in the arts. Our in-school and after school programs continue to provide both synchronous and asynchronous lessons for 3,500 participating students, and we are developing resources to be shared with the greater WCCUSD student population. Additionally, we are providing a series of workshops for classroom teachers focused on arts integration in a distance learning environment. 

For more information, contact Bryan Alvarez, Bryan.alvarez@eastbaycenter.org

Student Support Fund

DONATE NOW to help address the ongoing – and at times urgent – needs our students, their families and recent alumni face throughout the year. 100% of funds received will go directly to provide support for private lessons, performance and travel costs, college application fees, and other needs related to the pandemic, including housing, food, medical emergencies and other basic necessities.

For more information contact Sara Rader, Director of Corporate Engagement and Individual Giving: Sara.rader@eastbaycenter.org.